


I'll Be Here

by lostinthewind



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, M/M, New York City, One Shot, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-01
Updated: 2013-07-01
Packaged: 2017-12-16 19:25:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/865698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostinthewind/pseuds/lostinthewind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis moved to New York City without a plan, a little lost in the constant activity surrounding him. Then he literally bumps into Harry, instantly forging a connection at their shared English accent. After spending more and more time together, they both find themselves in love. But then the world comes crashing down around them. Louis attempts to move on, finally telling the tragic story of his and Harry's love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Be Here

“BEEEEEEEP” I heard the dial tone as I waited for Jason to answer. I took a shuddering breath, not sure what I would even say when he answered. A part of me hoped he wouldn’t.  
“Hello?” I heard his hesitant voice and I couldn’t help but smile.  
“It’s me,” I coughed, unsure of how to start. “Louis.”  
“Why are you calling?” I could hear the hurt in his voice and I just wanted to erase it all.  
“I know it’s been a month, just let me explain,” I paused. “I got scared,” my voice began to crack as I thought of the reason.  
“Why? You know I love you.”  
“And I love you, it’s just-“ I choked on the words.  
“What is it Louis?”  
“Just give me a moment to explain,” I cleared my throat and the lump began to form as I started my story.

\--------

It was a bleak day in New York. I remember we had just had a huge drenching of snow the previous week and the sidewalks had become covered in that disgusting brown slush from the huge amounts of cars driving through each day. White snow had become a rarity already and I hated it. The temperatures were freakishly cold and I had bundled up in multiple layers of wool and my draping scarf my mum had knit for me the Christmas before.  
I was making my way home down Bleaker St, head down as I maneuvered through the slush in my huge boots. As I got to the corner I saw a man in front of me slip on the ice, dropping all of his groceries.  
Without hesitation I bent to pick over a box of Fruit Loops that had landed near my feet. As I handed it to him, our eyes connected. His emerald eyes pierced mine as his cheeks rose into a dimpled smile.  
“Thanks,” he said. I noticed his accent right away. I didn’t meet many other English boys here in New York.  
“No problem mate,” I returned his warmth.  
“English?” he questioned, as I continued to help him pack his groceries back into his bag.  
“Yeah, Doncaster,” I nodded. We finished up and I handed back one of his bags now full again with fruit and vegetables, smiling up at him, as he was a few inches taller.  
“Well Doncaster, you have a great smile, I’m from Cheshire, myself,” he remarked, forcing a blush to my cheeks.  
I thanked him and began to walk away down Mercer to my flat, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Hey,” I stopped. “Whatcha doin’ tomorrow?”  
I shook my head, nothing. Tomorrow was an ordinary Friday for me, meaning wine and my telly.  
“Well, I’ll be here, at the corner of Bleecker and Mercer, tomorrow at 7. If you want to meet up, I’ll be waiting right here,” he smiled a cheeky smile and began to turn.  
Just as I thought he had gone, he turned back. “My name’s Harry by the way, in case there are two guys waiting for you,” he winked, then continued back down the street.  
I stood there in shock for a few seconds before gathering my senses and continuing down the streets to my flat. As soon as the door shut I ran to my bed and collapsed. Then I immediately sunk my head into my hands, I had barely said a word, I probably seemed so dumb. Harry. I said to myself. What a cute name. He was so handsome too, curly hair and what seemed like a fit body. Not to forget his gorgeous eyes. I sighed, looking forward to the next day immensely, I quickly fell asleep.

 

Needless to say I went back there to see him, mostly to see if he’d show. I round the corner and smiled as I saw his form standing on the corner, whistling what sounded like a Beatles tune.  
“Harry,” I called out as I grew closer. He turned with a huge smile on his face. He was bundled up with his jacket pulled tight and I had the urge to hug him close to warm him up.  
“Doncaster,” he laughed. “I should probably get your name though, so I don’t have to keep calling you that.”  
“My name’s Louis,” I pushed my hand out for him to shake. He didn’t, instead he grabbed my hand in his and pulled me along, crossing the street.  
“That’s a perfect name for a stunning person,” he whispered as he placed a hand on the small of my back and ushered me into a restaurant, holding the door open.  
“Jo’s,” I read the name of the restaurant on the top of the menu as soon as we had settled into our booth, tucked into the corner of a dim and cozy rustic room.  
“I came here on my first day in New York, I got lost looking for my new flat and was starving. I wandered in here and had never had better pasta in my life, seriously.”  
“Well then I think I’ll be getting salad,” I laughed at his sunken expression. “I’m kidding Harry, I think I’ll get the sun-dried tomato dish, it sounds rather good.”  
“That’s the spirit!” Harry raised his glass in a hurrah. I clinked my water against his.  
“Tell me about yourself, Cheshire,” I winked. Harry laughed and I could feel his knee nudge mine under the table. He began detailing the circumstances of his move to New York, an incredible job offer. I talked about my move here, more for an escape from my boredom of Doncaster. We used ridiculous british slang on the waitress, leaving her walking away baffled as we giggled like school girls.  
We laughed for hours, eating at a leisurely pace as we talked the entire time. Suddenly I looked at my watch, 11:30 pm. Wow. I had never talked to a stranger for that long ever, and I enjoyed myself the entire time.  
Harry saw my glance down. “Late?”  
“11:30,” I said, reaching for my glass of wine, noticing with disappointment it was empty.  
Harry whistled. “Wow, didn’t even feel like five minutes,” he began to push himself out of the booth then turned to grab my hand, helping me stand.  
We pulled our jackets on and walked towards the door. Standing on the corner, both going different directions, we paused. I looked up to Harry, not wanting the night to be over.  
“Go out with me next week?” Harry asked.  
“Of course,” I nodded, stepping back, ready to go. We had already exchanged numbers earlier.  
“Lou,” I turned, not many people called me that. I gasped in surprise as I suddenly felt his lips enclose mine, his warmth spreading through to me. We parted, both smiling like wild.  
“Bye Harry,” I gave him one last smile before walking in the opposite direction.  
“See ya Lou,” I could hear Harry calling over my shoulder. I chuckled in amusement. He was perfect, I couldn’t contain my happiness as I walked home, a certain pep in my step as I went. 

 

The next week we went to this terrible play. I don’t know how Harry found it, the theater took nearly half an hour to find. We had to go through an alley to get to the door. Harry gripped my hand tightly the entire time until we got to the bright other side of the narrow alleyway, then his hold loosened.  
As we walked, I looked down at our clasped hands, studying them. His hands were so big and warm, they made me feel safe and taken care of. “What?” I heard Harry question.  
“Ah, nothing,” I just smiled like an idiot as we continued on, making mindless chatter until we reached the theater.  
The play was so bad. It was a weird reimagining of Shakespeare’s 12th night, needless to say the acting was horrendous. Harry and I were laughing our arses off the entire time, until half way through the second act a small old woman usher approached us and kindly asked us to leave. That only got Harry and I laughing harder.  
As the night was still young, especially for New York, we decided to grab a drink at a nearby pub Harry knew.  
We drank copious amounts of beer and hard liquor, all the while laughing about the show and the fact we had been kicked out. As we went to leave I turned to Harry.  
“Harry, what are we doing?”  
“Going back to mine?” he looked at me, his intentions clear in his eyes. Maybe it was the alcohol or this strong attraction I felt pulling me in his direction; but I just nodded as I followed behind him, grasping his hand.  
I awoke the next morning wrapped in limbs and a white sheet. I grinned to myself as I gazed upon Harry’s sleeping face. He looked adorable, completely vulnerable and at peace, all pretenses gone, the true Harry. His legs began to move, stretching out like a cat in the sun.  
“Morning,” he murmured, his eyes still closed as a smirk spread across his face.  
Harry heaved his body out of bed and shocked me as he didn’t even hesitate to walk into the kitchen naked. I was a tad more modest and pulled my boxers on before following him. I paused before entering the kitchen, what was I doing? I didn’t usually go home with guys on the second date, but there was something about Harry that had me changing, he had this beautiful innocence and playfulness that had me craving more. I knew this wasn’t just a sex thing.  
We sat and ate breakfast, smiling and chatting. Harry told me about his work in the financial market and I told him about my art. He asked to see it sometime and I happily obliged. We spent the rest of the day walking around the city just wandering into whatever store the other found interesting.

 

The next week Harry was feeling rather ill. I could hear the hoarseness of his voice as he called me. Remorse filled his tone as he said he told he probably couldn’t go out. My heart sank, until I suddenly thought of a great idea.  
“I’ll come take care of you,” I said into the phone.  
“Aww, Lou, you don’t have to,” I heard him cough and hack on the other side.  
“It’s settled, I’ll be there in five minutes with lots of yummy stuff,” I started rifling through the cupboard and grabbed some hot chocolate and soup.  
“As long as you’re here I have all the yummy stuff I need,” Harry somehow managed to keep his cheeky humor while hacking in between words. I laughed as I said goodbye and walked out the door.  
We sat sipping hot chocolate, cuddled in blankets on Harry’s massive couch. We watched reruns of old British shows from our childhood, Harry laid his head in my lap as he started to drift, I placed my hand in his hair and stroked my fingers against his scalp softly. He hummed in content as he slipped into sleep.  
I cleaned Harry’s flat as he napped on the couch. When everything was spotless I sat on the chair, watching Harry. I pulled my sketchbook out of my shoulder bag and started to draw lines on the next blank page, forming them into the figure of a sleeping Harry. I filled countless pages before Harry started to shift awake.

\------

A few months later we spent another lazy day watching the tv in our new flat we had bought together on West 17th street. A nice wide open flat with simple white walls. We shared a bright window filled bedroom with the most comfortable bed sitting in the middle of the wooden floored room. I was happy because I had my own studio and Harry was happy because I was happy.  
I sat with my back against Harry’s chest as we watched. “I love you,” Harry looked down at me, laying a kiss on my forehead.  
“I love you too, Haz,” I smiled up at him, a few weeks into our relationship Harry had told me about that annoying childhood nickname and I couldn’t help to adopt it for him.

 

That August I sat in my studio, finishing up a huge canvas piece for a gallery in SoHo when I felt Harry put his arms around my chest. “Wanna go to Jo’s tonight?” he whispered in my ear.  
“Of course, just let me finish this last bit,” I said with the paintbrush stuck between my teeth as I mixed the perfect shade of teal.  
We sat in the same booth as our first date, I thought it was coincidence until I saw Harry slip a few dollars to the hostess.  
“Really Haz?” I laughed.  
“You weren’t supposed to see that,” he shrugged sheepishly. “I just wanted this to be perfect.”  
“Jo’s is always perfect,” I reasoned. We had been coming here a few times a month. I looked down at the menu even though I could recite it by heart, I was suddenly startled up by Harry.  
“Hey,” I looked up, his green eyes held some emotion in them, a weird excitement. I waited for him to continue. “Whatcha doin’ the rest of your life?”  
I held his gaze.  
“Because, I’ll be here, right beside you as long as you want me to be. There’s no question. There’s nothing I’ve wanted so much in my life, this might sound immature but I’ve got this sure feeling that you’re the one,” he said this all in one breath, holding my eye contact the entire time.  
“There’s nothing I want more than that Harry,” I grabbed his hand and leaned across the table, catching his lips in a passionate kiss.

\----

We decided to get married the next month, in city hall. It was our favorite month. We didn’t want a big ceremony or anything, just a few friends and drinks at Jo’s.  
Life took over. We began talking about getting a dog, then getting a dog jumped to adopting kids. We wanted everything, life was perfect and we were in love. I had never been happier with my life.  
Harry was everything I ever wanted and every night we came home from work and we would just unwind together, cuddling on the couch, I felt luckier and luckier. 

\-------

Our first anniversary came in a flash, we had decided to take the day off. I had grand visions of a carriage ride through Central Park and gallery hopping with delicious dinner at Jo’s followed by passionate sex.  
Harry had to stop into work that morning just to drop off this assignment he had finished off. I kissed him before he left.  
“See you in 15 minutes Lou,” he assured, pushing through the door to his building.  
I walked down the street to this bakery I loved to surprise Haz with his favorite cinnamon rolls. As I stood at the till, chatting with the young girl behind the counter, I heard yelling on the street.  
I ran out with the bag of pastries. I grabbed a woman by the shoulder, running down the street. “What’s happened?”  
“A plane has hit the World Trade Center,” she cried. I didn’t believe her, my heart was sinking as I ran back down the street. I looked up and nearly fell to the ground as I saw the smoke in the sky. My knees weakened as all I could hear were sirens and screams.  
My knees came out from beneath me as the second tower was struck. Harry was on the 91st floor. My stomach flipped as I tried calling Harry and he didn’t answer. His phone went right to voicemail. There was so much commotion, I could barely register the next hour.  
Somehow I managed to get home and collapsed on the floor, sobs racked my body. I saw the red light flickering on our home answering machine and hunkered over, pressing it. I nearly vomited as I heard Harry, and the last words he spoke. 

\----------

I paused as my words were too covered in sobs to be understood. I almost forgot I was on the phone with Jason as the memories overcame my entire being. I could hear Jason’s own quiet sobs on the other line.  
I took a huge gulp of air before speaking again. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to ruin your evening by bringing up all of this stuff,” I paused as another sob came up. “You’re probably wondering why I even decided to call you tonight. Well today something happened that really scared me.”  
I didn’t wait for Jason to reply, at this point I just needed to tell this to someone, I had been bottling this up for six years. “I looked in the cupboard and found that same box of Fruit Loops still there on the shelf, then I looked at my old sketchbooks. I cried and couldn’t get a hold of myself.”  
The tears cascaded down my cheeks.

\--------

I pressed the button on the machine, sobbing at the first hints of Harry’s voice.  
“Lou, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I have to leave you like this. But I want you to know you’re allowed to move on, it’s okay." His words were interrupted by coughs and screams, that only forced my sobs louder. "I’ll be here, even if you decide to get rid of my favorite sweater. Even if you go out on my birthday this year, ‘stead of sitting at home, like I know you are right now, letting all of life’s moments pass you by. You don’t have to cry, love." I heard screams in the background and Harry let out a little whimper. My heart shook in my chest as I forced myself to continue listening. "Because I’ll be here, when you start going back to Jo’s and all the places we went to together. When you take off my ring and you let yourself smile. When you meet someone patient, and handsome who puts up with your art talk," Harry let out a laugh, caught in a sob. "When he says that he wants to get married to you. When you call him one night and he meets you downtown and you finally tell him that yes you will marry him. I’ll be here Lou and I love you. I’m sorry we had to end this way, but I will love you forever and always.”

\--------

I took a breath. “So yes Jason, I will marry you,” I took a breath. “I will give you my heart, It has taken so long, but I’m ready to start. Right now Harry’s whispering ‘congrats’ in my ear,” another tear fell down my cheek. “Cause I’ve finally let myself tell you that I will be here.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this! It's based on the song I'll be Here by Adam Gwon, I sincerely suggest searching for it on youtube, it is amazing. Please leave a comment if you feel so inclined, it would mean the world to me!


End file.
